Our Big Leaf Maples are gushing!! We just carried in gallon after gallon of maple water!! I am so so so so so SO excited! The girls and I were just cheering with each 'glug glug' as we emptied all our containers!

Maple trees would not bleed themselves out too much. The holes from the taps start to heal over before the season is even over. The trees that I am tapping are hundreds of years old, they are strong and mighty beings. I have one young one that is only maybe 70 years old or so. One tap per tree is not going to hurt them. They are lucky trees that are a blessing to us, and the life cycles they support.

Our trees have names, we care a great deal about being good stewards to our land and all its creatures and beings.

I am glad the maples really have someone who cares for them. I suppose I am sensitive when it comes to bleeding trees...because we had a farmer who cut limbs of our maples in the spring without asking which killed them from the bleeding that wouldn't stop.

When a person cuts off branches you are cutting off the leaves, the leaves are what collect the energy the tree needs. When you tap for syrup you do this before the tree buds even its first buds of the year, and you do not remove anything, you make a small hole. The tree has begun to heal it over the hole within weeks with new wood.

So you don't need to plug the hole? I know a few people who tap birches...they are always so very careful to tap just so much, and then they plug the holes. But perhaps birches aren't as good at healing as maples?